§ Mr. Farrasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what was the total number of shotgun certificates in force in England and Wales on 31st December 1974, 31st December 1975 and 31st December 1976.
(2) what was the total number of firearm certificates in force in England and Wales on 31st December 1975 and 31st December 1976.
§ Dr. Summerskill:Information about the number of persons authorised to possess firearms is not collected annually. In 1974, 185,865 firearm certificates and 766,952 shot-gun certificates were held by persons in England and Wales, but I regret that comparable figures for 1975 and 1976 are not available.
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§ Mr. Farrasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish in the Official Report statistics from 1st January 1974 to the latest available date relating to convictions under the Firearms Act 1968 and, in particular, details of
PERSONS SENTENCED FOR OFFENCES UNDER THE FIREARMS ACT 1968—ENGLAND AND WALES Number of Persons Magistrates' Courts The Crown Court Sentence or order for principal offence 1975 1976 1975 1976 Absolute or Conditional discharge … … 1,003 1,329 14 19 Probation or Supervision Order … … 134 149 17 15 Fine … … 5,974 6,721 44 56 Attendance Centre or Care Order … … 64 92 3 — Suspended Sentence … … 40 57 44 54 Immediate Custodial Sentence … … 76 60 90 145 Other … … 50 70 5 11 Total … … 7,341 8,478 217 300 Average amount of fine … … £14 £16 £50 £79 Information for 1974 is not readily available.